Environs of Chiang Rai

We arrived in Thailand last week.  First stop was Chiang Rai, which is located in the far north of Thailand.  We arrived late in the evening but managed to find dinner at a little B&B just down the driveway from our guesthouse.  We stayed at Ben Guesthouse and thoroughly enjoyed our 3 nights there.  Here are a few shots of the outside of Ben Guesthouse.

When we woke up we were ready to hit the ground running to see as much as possible.  I arranged a tour to see areas outside of Chiang Rai for our first full day.  Our tour included visiting the White Temple, the Black House, a tea plantation, a visit to the Karen longnecks, the Golden Triangle (to include the Hall of Opium), and Wat Phra That Chedi Luang.  The White Temple was our favorite, but I was originally the most excited about seeing the Karen longnecks.  After visiting the Karen longnecks, I learned that this tribe of people are Burmese refugees basically being imprisoned.  You are charged an admission upon entering the village.  I guess that should have been my first clue something was up, but again, I was too excited to see these ladies.  The women of the tribe make beautiful scarves and the men don't work at all.  They don't work because in this tribe they live in as prisoners, there are no farms for them to work.  After learning all of this I felt like I further exploited these Burmese refugees and debated even putting it in my blog.  But I decided I would use this as an educational tool so that visitors really know what is happening to these people.  I will visit the longnecks when we visit Myanmar as well and hopefully not be riddled with guilt like I am now for exploiting these people. Without further ado, here are picture from the environs.

White Temple

Fancy bathroom

Black House

Karen Longnecks

Chouifong Tea Plantation

Golden Triangle

Myanmar is the middle part jutting into the river.  Laos is on the other side of the river and we are standing in Thailand

This is what is left of the Buddha of Chiang Saen

Wat Phra That Chedi Luang

Brian very excited to hit the drum.

That concludes day 1 of Thailand.  Hope you will continue to follow us on our adventures.  Until next time, keep traveling.